Tag Archives: Climate change

Most rational people understand and accept that humanity’s actions have severely negatively impacted the environment, and yet most people do little or nothing to change their personal impact on the environment. I too am guilty of not always recycling, throwing batteries in the trash, (which I excuse-away in my mind as understandable because I live in a country where I do not speak the language and thus cannot seek proper channels for disposal), leaving my computer on and plugged in for days at a time, lounging in the shower, using synthetic petro-chemical products, and generally being wasteful. That I am not perfect in my own personal protection and defense of the environment does not lessen my commitment to making the world a better place, both figuratively and literally. Bad behaviors are not generally changed overnight, and so, I forgive myself if I have a lapse in judgement or memory and wound the planet, but I still consider myself an ecofeminist.

Women are disproportionately represented in environmental organizations: they are often a majority of grassroots/local members and activists but are very few officers or leaders of major organizations. Often women, and the specific effects of environmental degradation on them, are specifically (if not intentionally) left out of papers, conferences and legislation surrounding environmental issues. Increasingly (and alarmingly) environmental organizations that are committed to nonviolent tactics, such as gluing themselves to the offices of companies they are protesting, are falsely linked to militaristic environmental groups that shamefully use terrorist tactics to try and overcome the system–more on why that will never work in a later post. The women in these peaceful groups are at an increased risk of violence if other members think the use of violence is an acceptable way to get what one wants, and are often under attack from corporations, police and non-activist citizens who feel threatened by the truth being spoken.

The link between family planning and climate change is a hot issue for many feminists, including the women of color RJ group SisterSong, because attempts to control women’s fertility and take away their right to bodily autonomy have been “justified” whenever anything needs protecting (like a specific gene pool, for example). This article Collective_Voices_Vol4_Issue9 shows why trying to limit women’s fertility will not be the answer to climate change. Please do not misunderstand: I fully support all women having accurate information about and access to all kinds of birth control so that they can make their own fully-informed decisions. What I do not approve of is anyone imposing their views of what is right, or moral, or healthy or “best” on someone else.

Women are often assumed to be more “in-tune” with nature because of menstruation, or because the femininely-linked intuition and emotion are seen as more basic human traits than the masculinely-linked logic and reason. (Even big-name politicians fall prey to these assumptions!) These assumptions merely feed into the social constructions of gender roles in any given society, which are often responsible for the impact environmental issues disproportionately have on women in the first place, creating a vicious cycle.

If you would like to become more involved in environmental issues there are many, many areas of concern. A quick google search for organizations in your area will be a good start. Women are effective and capable leaders and members of environmental activist organizations not because they (more than men) have some innate connection to Mother Earth but because they are effective and capable people.

North Africa has been in the news recently for its people’s uprisings. Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are all currently in very precarious situations but the people of these nations, men and women, have shown that they want democracy and are willing to give their lives to earn it.

Sub-Saharan Africa is largely ignored by America unless the political events that occur will affect the US, such a high-profile oil spill in Nigeria which could raise gas prices in the States. The tragedies and travesties of the rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the upheaval in Sudan and its Darfur region, and the poverty and desperation in Somalia go largely unnoticed by American news outlets and the American people.

Today I’d like to give a sample of what women (and feminist men) are doing across the African continent to advance social justice and true equality.

Cotê d’Ivoire: In honor of International Women’s Day, and to protest the killing of women protesting Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to recognize the November 2010 elections, thousands of Ivorians marched yesterday in an event that left three men and one woman dead.

Ethiopia: One of my favorite feminists, native Ethiopian Billene Seyoum Woldeyes, is helping to bring gender equality to her motherland through her blog Ethiopian Feminist.

Kenya:Wangari Maathai is perhaps one of the most well-known women in the world. The 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Greenbelt Movement, Maathai continues to improve the world around her both through her environmental activism and her women’s rights advocacy.

Uganda: One of Uganda’s favorite journalists, Rosebell Kagumire, covers stories and brings attention to everything from vote rigging to violence against women, both in Uganda and around Africa, in her blog.

South Africa: The shameful “rape capital of the world” (a title South Africa dubiously shares with the DRC) has come a long way since apartheid, but the country’s lesbians are constantly at great risk. So called “corrective rape” of lesbians in South Africa has reached epidemic proportions with police refusing to take complaints seriously, but women around the world have demanded an end to this inhumane practice.